Mac vs. PC? I am in college, primarily use wordprocessing, plus internet, & a few games. Thoughts?

Question

I have never used a Mac before, but have heard some positive things. I would most likely get a Mac laptop so I can do papers, research, and take it with me to class. How is Apple's word-processor? I am currently using Microsoft Word 2003. If you are a Mac user, which model do you have? Any facts, thoughts, and personal experiences will be of great help. Thank you.

Answer 1

I personally own 2 Dell laptops and several PC desktops. If you take care of them, you will never have any issues. If you are comfortable with PCs, stick with them. Macs tend to have some compatibility issues, and if you dont have great tech skills, those problems will give you a headache.

Use a coupon, there are dell coupons at http://www.24houredeals.com/dell-coupons-23-mer.html to save on your purchase.

Answer 2

Macs are typically 13% less expensive tthan equivalent PC computers, and, the Mac includes the PRO version of all software, where the PC contains trialware, anti -spy, anti-malware, and anti-virus suites that require $129 to activate, even AFTER the above expenses!

Consumer Reports rates Mac #1 for warranty and it is 1 year, extension up to two more years. Dells give 90 days? If you want a full year warranty on Dell, you'll pay!

Mac and PC both can be had with Intel Duo Core. You can run Microsoft on the Mac, using either BootCamp (FREE), or Parallel.

http://apple.com has the Refurb website to sell display or demo models. Great savings, full warrantees!

Now, let's examine the quality of the hardware. I service Macs and PCs. The Mac designs, quality, are excellent.

But, don't take my word for it, look in all the three CU mags, for Aug, Sept. Oct 2006 that rated Macs BEST in all classes for no virus, best service records.

But, you mention College, and 90% of all computers in colleges are stolen in the first two years. Maybe you want a very used, off-lease, but refurbished, warranteed Dell PC for $249?

http://cheaptronicsdepot.com is a mile from my house, and very good stuff.

And, if you would really like Mac OS X, but have a PC, grab http://pclinuxos.com that comes with Open Office, and 5500 other great applications and suites.

Answer 3

i have stood by windows for years, until the last pc i bought last year crashed because windows update installed an update for vista when i was running xp. i refused to upgrade to vista, despite the free upgrade that came with my pc, because i had a friend who had bought a pc with vista and it crashed and needed installed 3 times in the first month he had it. microsoft has already announced that they will be replacing vista and making it obsolete because of the mass quantities of problems that people have had with it. if you are spending at least $1000 on a decent pc, you will want it to be around in 2 years, i have never had a pc (and i've been through quite a few) that have ran like the day i bought it 3 months later, windows slowing down a pc will happen quite quickly if you are using the internet at all, because it is almost impossible to not get a virus wile running windows, even with the best anti virus. i've had a mac for 8 months now and it runs like the day i bought it, i know many mac users, and i don't know anyone who has ever wanted to run windows on a mac. in my opinion, i would definitely buy mac, although more expensive a mac is in it with you for the long haul. i used windows for 10 years, and now that i have a mac, i will never own a pc again

Answer 4

Go with a new Intel Mac! I'm running one of the 20" iMacs and I love it! It's only half as good as my brothers PC, spec wise, but it runs twice as good. I get much better FPS in World of Warcraft then him, I never crash, and don't have to reboot when I install anything other then Firmware updates :)

And, you don't have to buy Microsoft Office for what you want. You can download the OSX version of OpenOffice called NeoOffice. It's free and open source, and just as good as Mic rosoft Office :) Also, with the new intel based Macs, you can download a program Apple is putting out (it's in Beta right now) called BootCamp. This will allow you to install Windows on your Mac so you can dual-boot between both Operation Systems (OSX and Windows). It's picky about what version of Windows you can install (XP with SP2) but actually getting it running is a breeze. Then, when you reboot, you just hold down the Option (alt) key and select witch operation system you want :)

Maybe I'm too much of a Mac guy, but OSX is so much more sexy then Windows. It looks better, feels better, and runs better. It is all preference, but I would recommend a Mac over a PC any day of the week, no questions asked :)

Answer 5

Stick with PC, especially if you're not going to use the Mac for one of its niche applications: graphic design or video editing. Macs are overpriced and underpowered, and if you have a Mac, you're going to buy Microsoft Office for Mac anyway.

Answer 6

stick with pc. as said in previous answer.

macs are great but for your requirements why learn a whole new operating system?